Tuesday March 10th. – Lent 2009

An article by Drew    2 Comments

Ever wonder why Lent is 40 days?

In the bible 40 days is a convention which crops up all over the place. 40 days of rain floated Noah’s boat. Moses was on the mountain for 40 days. Hebrew scouts explored the promised land for 40 days. And of course Jesus fasted and resisted the devil for forty days in the wilderness. Take this duration as literally or figuratively as you want – it’s a considerable period of time. It’s also clear that Jesus had a real need for serious solitude – sorting things out, facing ultimate good and evil without distraction.

For us 21st century materialists, the idea of spending a long time, alone in a desolate place without cell phone, ipod, internet and a coffee machine is a frightening proposition. Some Christians refer to “desert times” in their faith journey – times when they felt arid and abandoned by God. But for Christians in the early church time spent in silence and solitude was viewed as an admirable pursuit not a punishment. There were the “Desert Fathers” monks who lived in the deserts of Egypt, who became known for their spiritual wisdom. There were many monks and nuns who lived in caves, some who were walled up in tiny cells, even some extremists who lived on tiny platforms at the top of tall poles.

Now I’m not suggesting you crawl into a dark hole somewhere but I am recommending that this Lent you try a bit of wilderness therapy. You don’t need a desert – a deserted beach or lakeside, a quiet garden, a monastery or retreat center – any place that you can be safely alone and removed from interruptions will do. Allow yourself at least a couple of hours. Go there alone and don’t take your cell phone, your MP3 player or even a book. Spend the time praying, thinking, contemplating as deeply as possible.

When you’ve talked through your concerns with God try to spend some time listening. This is really hard – stilling and slowing yourself down to the point when you’re quiet inside and ready to hear God. It takes practice and there are a lot of helpful techniques involving breathing, centering prayer etc. etc. There are whole libraries of books written on the subject. But whether you’re a novice at contemplation or have been doing it for years use this Lent as motivation to meet God in the wilderness.